


No Mercy

by River_of_Dreams



Series: The Devil Doesn't Lie [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode AU: s05e19 Hammer of the Gods, Episode: s05e19 Hammer of the Gods, Gen, but nothing too graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-25 06:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2611889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/River_of_Dreams/pseuds/River_of_Dreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Devil makes a different decision.</p><p>AU from the end of s05e19 Hammer of the Gods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Mercy

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my little "what if" ficlet that might and might not be the beginning of a 'verse, but either way stands well enough on its own (I hope).
> 
> Comments of any kind will be most appreciated. Constructive critics will be worshipped. Destructive critics less so :) I'm not a native speaker, so if you spot any mistakes or suspiciously used words, please don't hesitate to point them out. Known enemies of mine include tenses and commas.
> 
> Unsurprisingly, I don't own Supernatural and I make no profit off this.

„I know where your heart truly lies. Here.“

He turns around and there the real Gabriel is, sword raised, movements slower than becomes the Messenger, almost hesitant, but he makes the lunge nonetheless – and condemns himself by it, as Lucifer captures his little brother’s hand and impales him on his own blade. It’s terribly easy and terribly final, an abrupt end to a relationship that had lasted millennia before everything went wrong.

Except that he missed.

Half an inch sideways, and Gabriel would have died instantly. As it was, he gasped and clutched at Lucifer, pain and disbelief and _plea_ all over his face. His Grace screamed, drawn to his own sword like light to a black hole, disintegrating, consumed, wings beating frantically – and hopelessly – to escape.

Oh, and wasn’t that better. Wasn’t that satisfaction to the Devil’s cold fury at being opposed, being betrayed for the crawling mass of filth that called itself humanity. Gabriel was supposed to stand with _him_ , and he reveled in the punishment being delivered. Just a moment longer, just a little twist of the blade, and it will be over.

„Don’t forget you’ve learned all your tricks from me.“

But that was a mistake. That brought memories of better times, of prank wars and fights that were only pretend, of a Gabriel who was brilliant and chaotic and radiant with joy, and Lucifer snarled into his brother’s face with the pain of it.

He didn’t want to end it just yet, and not even he knew if it was to prolong the suffering or keep Gabriel alive just a moment longer.

He reached for Gabriel’s Grace to bind him to the spot and slipped the sword free, half expecting its last violent tug on Gabriel’s essence to unravel him. It nearly did. Gabriel collapsed to his knees, teetering on the edge, Lucifer’s fist in his hair keeping him upright.

It didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter, because Lucifer knew what he must do. What Gabriel deserves for opposing him. He didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t afford to let anyone stand in his way.

Except that Gabriel didn’t stand anywhere, not anymore. He was ruined, crippled, nearly torn apart. No more powerful than one of the humans he loved so much, and possibly even more fragile. It would take him months to reach the level of the lowest of angels, years to resemble an archangel again, and he might never fully recover. He was out of the game, one way or another.

Lucifer’s fingers itched around the hilt of his brother’s blade. Part of him wanted nothing more than to drive it up his throat and make him pay. He savored the power of it, high on the certainty that he can do so at his leisure. He could end Gabriel. He will end Gabriel, and they both knew it.

But every time he tightened his grip and prepared to do it, he hesitated. He postponed it for another moment, because there was a part of him, unwelcome as it was, that still saw a favourite little brother, a part that wanted to keep, to protect, and it twisted and tore at his insides that he won’t be able to do so. That he will lose Gabriel.

„Why did you do this to me, brother?”

Gabriel didn’t respond. He was looking up at him, but his gaze lost focus. His hands went numb some time ago and fell limply to his sides.

Quiet resignation looked wrong on him. This was Gabriel. He bickered, he fought, he ran, but he was never resigned.

_What happened to you while I was away, little brother?_

And just like that, the equilibrium shifted.

The Devil didn’t doubt himself. He never did, but something about what he was going to do – what he wasn’t going to do – didn’t sit well with him anyway. This wasn’t supposed to be. He wasn’t supposed to _stop_. He wasn’t supposed to have mercy.

Mercy, such a strange concept. He still needed to plan ahead, though. When he have won…

„When I have won,“ he said slowly, severely, „I’ll come for you, little brother. We’ll continue this little discussion about my failings. Then we can talk about your proper place in the order of things.“

Gabriel blinked up at him, slow to understand. Lucifer bent down and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, like a benediction. Like a curse, a matching mark pressing itself into his Grace.

„Now I’ll find you anywhere you run, Gabriel. Anywhere. Anytime.“ He let the blade clatter to the ground, shifting his weight to step on it, just in case. Cupping Gabriel’s cheek with his freed hand, he watched with satisfaction as comprehension finally dawned, as horror grew anew in those golden eyes and damaged wings resumed their terrified trashing.

There. All better.

„Go,“ he said softly, and released his hold of Gabriel’s vessel and Grace both. Almost immediately, torn wings stretched across space and time to try and carry their owner away from his presence, out of his grasp.

Lucifer smiled and tugged, adjusting his brother’s unsteady flight as it suited him. And if it sent Gabriel tumbling down, and was nearly enough to undo him after all… that was only a small part of the punishment to come.

The Devil did not have mercy, and all was as it should be.

**Author's Note:**

> I have this little headcanon in which the Devil doesn't lie to others, but he's an expert at lying to himself.
> 
> Might be continued. I already know where Gabriel landed, but I need to figure out where to go with it. Might even continue it in at least two separate directions :) But any updates will be terribly slow. I'm not a fast writer at the best of times, and I have a six week old baby at home, so sometimes it's difficult to write more than a few sentences a day.
> 
> What did you think? In particular, did I make Lucifer's motivations and thought processes believable? Did the scene flow well enough?


End file.
